The Calcutta High Court declared on 22nd April, 2024, that the selection process for the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST) used to hire staff in government-sponsored and aided schools in West Bengal, as null and void. Following that the employment of about 24,000 teachers and other staff members has been canceled. Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi of a division bench ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the recruitment process and submit a report within three months.
The court mandated that those hired through the illegal process must return their salaries within four weeks.
The court has ordered that new recruitment procedures to be initiated within 15 days, while the CBI’s investigation into the matter will be continued. An exception was made for Soma Das, a cancer patient, has been allowed to retain her job despite the invalidated appointments.
According to the CBI’s findings presented to the court, a total of 21,000 candidates were recruited through this procedure across all categories of the WBSSC, and over 9,000 OMR sheets had been tampered.
Earlier in February, 2024, the CBI arrested six individuals, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, as part of its probe, connected with these alleged irregularities. The individuals arrested were playing a role as agents, collected money from candidates and paved the way for their employment in various schools throughout the state, according to the federal agency.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court asked the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to set up a specialized division bench to handle all cases and appeals linked to the recruitment through the SLST-2016, aiming to initiate the resolution process. The Supreme Court also protected the positions that had been invalidated by the high court, granting a six-month safeguard period to allow the new bench time to settle the disputes.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to complete its investigation within a specific time-frame and report its findings back to the court. Former judge of the Calcutta High Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, on Monday, 22nd April, 2024, termed the court’s decision to cancel all appointments made through the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST) for government-sponsored and aided schools in West Bengal as “appropriate judgement.”
Earlier, Gangopadhyay had also ordered the termination of several teaching and non-teaching positions after discovering irregularities.
(Picture Credit – Shiksha)
